âThe re-election will most probably be held on October 8 following some important changes at top level in the army,â the sources said.
<b>JCSC Chairman Gen Ehsaul Haq and VCOAS General Ahsen Saleem Hayat will retire on October 7. </b>Before the retirement of Gen Haq and Gen Hayat, the president will promote two lieutenant generals to the rank of general.
It is expected that ISI DG Lt Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani will be promoted to a four-star general for his appointment as JCSC chairman in place of Gen Haq. Rawalpindi Corps Commander Lt Gen Tariq Majeed, Gujranwala Corps Commander Lt Gen Waseem Ahmed and <b>Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Salahuddin Satti may also be considered for the position of VCOAS</b>.
In case the president removes his uniform, one of these three generals may be appointed chief of army staff. It is expected that<b> Lt Gen Satti will be promoted for the top position in the Pakistan Army</b>.
Sources in the Foreign Office told Daily Times that the president would not go to the US this time to attend the United Nations General Assembly session starting from September 18. Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri would represent Pakistan at the UN. âThe ongoing dialogue with all political parties, particularly the PPP, is expected to continue to resolve the contentious issues before the announcement of the schedule for the presidential election,â sources told Daily Times.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lt Gen Satti will be promoted for the top position in the Pakistan Army<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hindu convert will be Chief and Hindu grand daughter will be PM. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Militants free six soldiers</b>
Alamgir Bhittani
TANK, Sept 5 :<b> Six of about 300 soldiers held hostage by militants in South Waziristan Agency were freed on Wednesday as a âgesture of respectâ for a jirga holding talks with the militants for the troopsâ release</b>.
A jirga member said talks with Baitullah Mehsudâs group were heading in the âright directionâ. âThe group has freed six paramilitary soldiers as a gesture of respect for the jirga,â said jirga member Akhtar Gul Mehsud.
<b>[The army and paramilitary troops, including nine officers, were kidnapped in Laddah subdivisionâs Momi Karam area on Aug 30 when their convoy was proceeding from Wana. The Inter Services Public Relations has confirmed the kidnapping of 240 soldier</b>
Mr Gul told Dawn that a select group of tribal elders led by MNA Maulvi Mirajuddin had held talks with the militants in Laddah.
He said the militants wanted implementation of the Sararogha peace agreement before releasing all soldiers. The peace deal between the government and the militants had been signed in Feb 2005.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
THINGS are becoming topsy-turvy, the abnormal and bizarre becoming everyday reality. Our nuke capability was supposed to be the ultimate deterrent. It is turning into our biggest liability, we being put to the necessity, at every turn, of assuring both ourselves and the world that it is âin safe handsâ.
Who is the most threatened person in Pakistan today, who should be feeling the safest but is not? Why, the chief of army staff, also doubling as the president, who has more layers of security around him than any Third World âstrongmanâ coming readily to mind.
The army operation in the two Waziristans is becoming a joke. Army units there dare not move out of their fixed positions for fear of being kidnapped by tribal militants. One day we hear of 10 captured, the next day 19, a few days later a mind-boggling 150 (the militants say 300).
I suppose every military convoy rash enough to move in Waziristan will need an additional convoy to guard its flanks and a fleet of Cobra helicopters to provide it with air cover. Baitullah Mehsud is one of the leading commanders of the Waziristan militants. He must be laughing up his sleeve. His major problem these days seems not to be about how best to resist the army but how to arrange adequate prison space.
How to guard the guardians? That seems to be our foremost problem at present. Not since the fall of Dhaka â and this is not said lightly â when our Eastern Command led by the heroic Gen Niazi set a new world record in meek surrender, has the army faced such embarrassment.
But the army command has different priorities, the foremost being how to get its chief âelectedâ president for another five years. Commander Baitullah Mehsud can run as many circles as he wants around our troops in Waziristan. Mortar and rocket attacks can take place almost every day in different parts of Balochistan. Terror bombings can occur in the very heart of Rawalpindi Cantonment. But top of the national agenda is the presidentâs âreelectionâ.
I am putting commas around âreelectedâ because when was he ever elected? Unless the referendum and the Seventeenth Amendment are to pass for a legit election.
Because of these pressing political preoccupations small wonder that the ISI chief, Lt Gen Kayani, instead of being distracted by Waziristan and sundry acts of sabotage is busy negotiating a deal with Benazir Bhutto.
There was a report in an English newspaper a few days ago that Kayani was among the hopefuls aspiring to become the next army chief. At least he will bring negotiating skills to the job, the post of army chief now more a political than a military position in our country.
The eastern front â with India, that is â has been pacified with Kashmir now the subject for the odd seminar (although even on the seminar circuit it is disappearing as a serious subject of discussion) rather an anguished point of dispute between our two countries. Posturing and muscle-flexing will not disappear and tall, mustachioed, and well-turned out Rangers at Wagah will continue to stomp their feet in an impressive manner. But we shouldnât be misled by appearances.
Thanks to American tutelage, and American largesse whose lure our so-called establishment has always found hard to resist, the axis of the army now runs westwards, towards the treacherous hills and valleys of our tribal areas.
Besides Kayani, the other army chief-hopeful figuring in press reports is the 10 Corps Commander, Lt Gen Majeed, said to be close to Gen Musharraf, which I suppose should clinch the matter.
Anyhow, 2007 is proving to be a seminal year for Pakistan, with new vistas opening up and new winds blowing across the horizon. Regardless of Musharrafâs political fortunes, whether he manages to get âreelectedâ or is dealt cruelly by the fates which monitor earthly happenings, a few things have already changed.
The Supreme Court has come into its own, now assuming the constitutional and guardianship role (relating to the rights of the people) it was always meant to play. The lawyersâ community has turned into a potent force for the rule of law. Just as it led the struggle after March 9, it is in the forefront of the effort to block the farce of Musharrafâs âreelectionâ at the hands of the present assemblies. The media also has become a force to be reckoned with. The March 9 struggle would have turned out differently but for the (strategic) support provided by the media.
There is disorder across the land but this is a good thing because in our given conditions only from the womb of turmoil and disorder can anything good arise. The anguish of the Q League as Musharraf seeks an understanding with the PPP, the PPPâs opportunism as Benazir Bhutto seeks what crumbs of comfort she can get from Musharrafâs table, and the presidencyâs increasingly chaotic and directionless attempts to master the present political crisis are all symptoms of the pains Pakistan is undergoing as it moves from the old to the new.
Musharraf is trying to save himself, little realising that the tidal waves buffeting him represent something greater than his person. The people of Pakistan have received an important education. They no longer have any patience for military democracy, the variety we have known all these years, or for palace intrigues, conducted here or in exotic climes, aimed at perpetuating the present order, now in the last throes of its existence.
A consensus is building up around several interwoven themes. There is a palpable yearning for the rule of law, the supremacy of the Constitution and the independence of the judiciary. And there is a popular groundswell against Pakistanâs American alliance which has succeeded only in lining the pockets of the rich and in opening up a gulf between the army and the people of Pakistan.
There is nothing negative about this discontent. It is not tinged with despair. The hopelessness and cynicism which used to be features of the Pakistani political scene have been replaced by hope and expectation, all because of the movement for the rule of law sparked by the events of March 9.
Looking to what the Supreme Court has done and is doing, people now expect a change for the better in their collective lives. These expectations are unrealistic and in the nature of things cannot be met. The Supreme Court by itself cannot perform all the labours of Hercules. But it is showing the way and it has put dictatorship on the retreat. These are not mean achievements.
When the curtains finally come down on the Musharraf order, as soon they must (this being a play whose time has run out), anyone coming to power will have to contend with this new optimism running across Pakistan. Benazir is firmly in the American orbit. Her ambition is to be Pakistanâs Nuri Al-Maliki or Hamid Karzai, her desperation to be rid of the corruption cases she faces leaving her with few other options.
But even Nawaz Sharif will have to be more fully in accord with the nationâs new mood, and he will have to leave some of his past behind, if he is to play a meaningful and enduring role in the trying times that lie ahead.
Tailpiece: On Wednesday in the Express an absolutely brilliant piece by Zahida Hina on the immortal Quratulain Hyder. Moving and beautifully done. Unfamiliar with Hyder myself, I felt small after reading Hinaâs account. In the schools we went to, Urdu literature passed us by, or we were ignorant of its riches, part of our national problem being the impoverishment of what we know as Pakistani culture.
How to guard the guardians? That seems to be our foremost problem at present. Not since the fall of Dhaka â and this is not said lightly â when our Eastern Command led by the heroic Gen Niazi set a new world record in <b>meek </b>surrender, has the army faced such embarrassment.
La ilaha illa al TFTA (There is no God other than the tall fair tight a$$ed). Do not worry, O Brave Soldiers of Pak, the meek shall inherit the earth. What does this jealous jaahil journalist joker know about the sacrifices that need to be made to achieve the vaunted TFTA status! Bismillah! Martial Law!
<b>Helicopter kills six in N Waziristan</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->PESHAWAR: An army gunship helicopter returned fire after suspected militants in a car attempted to shoot it down in North Waziristan, killing six people, including four suspected militants.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Civilians pay more link
Sir: At times, one wonders whether civilians even have the right to live in Pakistan! A new health club was recently launched at the Polo Ground Park, Lahore Cantt. I, being a regular visitor to the park, got very excited and went to get myself registered. To my utter surprise<b>, the annual fee for me as a âcivilianâ was Rs39,500</b> whereas the person standing next to me, the <b>privileged army officer had to pay Rs1800 only</b>. Why did I, being a diligent taxpayer, have to pay 22 times more than an army officer? Am I of a lesser god?
ARIF ALI KHAN<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pakistani Army is violating rights of the depressed, oppressed, and suppressed people of Waziristan. This cannot be allowed to go on. I appeal to General Pervez Musharraf in the name of Allah to stop this occupation and allow self-determination.
Sincerely,
Maulana Shambhuddin Waziri
Waqf wat de faq ul islam
Maderassah Dar ul Uloom Haqqania
<b>Militants blow up 63 shops in Swat</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->MINGORA: Suspected militants on Friday blew up 63 CD and shoe shops in the Mina Bazaar and Ali Plaza and partially damaged 21 nearby shops, but there were no casualties, witnesses said.
In Ali Plaza, the explosion destroyed 19 shops selling shoes and a mobile repairing shop in the basement, while 27 CD shops and a mobile repairing shop were destroyed in the first floor of the plaza.
In Mina Bazaar, the blast destroyed 15 CD shops and partially damaged nine nearby shops. Around 12 mobile repairing shops were partially damaged in Qadria Market. Offices of Daily Times, Aaj TV and Online news agency were also partially damaged due to the Mina Bazaar blasts, which also broke the windowpanes of Lalazaar Hotel, Bolan Hotel and Anwar Hotel.
.........<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Two âprostitutesâ beheaded</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->PESHAWAR: Suspected militants beheaded two women on Thursday for alleged<b> prostitution in the Bannu Cantt Police precinct</b>, police said. An investigator said a note was found with the bodies to that effect. A police officer told Daily Times that the two women were kidnapped on Thursday from Sokari Jaba and their bodies were later found in Domanzi. The women were identified as Maino and Malaki, both in their mid-40s. staff report<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
LONDON: Former Prime Minister and PML (N) chief Muhammad Nawaz Sharif disclosed that he decided to travel in a PIA flight due to changed scenario because it was feared that if I had booked the flight of any foreign airline that would have been cancelled or diverted to other destination on one way or the other.
He stated this while talking to Geo News on board PIA flight PK-786. The situation of Pakistan is crystal clear before every body and the Pakistani nation wants to get rid of dictatorship.
âThe feeling about my return to homeland is beyond explanation,â he remarked.
âThanks to God that I have stepped in national flag carrier after nine years to travel to Pakistan and I was all the time missing my homeland and Pakistani people,â he said.
<b>Pakistan tightens security for Sharif </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police arrested leading supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and blocked roads leading to the airport Monday ahead of his return from exile to lead a campaign to topple Pakistan's U.S.-allied military ruler.
Before leaving London, Sharif warned that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government might try to arrest or deport him. At the last minute, he asked his brother Shahbaz Sharif to remain in Britain so that he can lead the party in case anything happens to the former prime minister.
<b>The Pakistani government has hinted it may arrest or deport Sharif when he arrives. Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema said Sharif </b>"would be treated according to the law" on his arrival. He declined to elaborate.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Sharif plane lands in Islamabad </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Paramilitary troops have surrounded the plane, and no one has yet disembarked.</b>
Immigration officers have gone on board the aircraft.
On Sunday, Mr Sharif's Muslim League party (PML-N) said more than 2,000 supporters had been arrested by the Pakistan authorities, and <b>several hundred more were picked up in the Pindi-Islamabad region overnight</b>.
A provincial police official admitted to detaining several hundred "trouble-makers".
<b>Police have fired teargas shells to disperse crowds of Mr Sharif's supporters in Pindi, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan reports</b>.
<b>Almost the entire leadership of the party there has been detained by the police,</b> and dozens more were arrested while attempting to lead party workers towards the airport on Monday morning.
...........
A group of political supporters and journalists travelled with him on the Pakistan International Airlines flight, whose departure from London was delayed by more than one hour as a passenger was apparently taken ill.
<b>Mr Sharif's aides changed the flight at the last moment in an apparent effort to outwit the Pakistani authorities</b>
Watch photo Video
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sharif was refusing to hand over his passport to immigration officials who were also on the plane, the reporter said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sharif has just come out of the plane. Till now, he was refusing to disembark saying that he would not get off without his supporters or his staff â including his British lawyers.
Nawaj Sharif's son, Hasan Sharif told CNN-IBN that his father has not been in contact with any emissary of the Pakistan government, or any military secretary of General Musharraf.
"This is strange behaviour of the part of Pakistan. Whether he will be allowed out of the aircraft all depends on the government now. We are hoping for the best," he said
Complete circus. Looks like Mushy is scared of small Nawaj.
09-10-2007, 11:29 AM (This post was last modified: 09-10-2007, 11:30 AM by Naresh.)
<b><span style='color:green'>Nawaz Sharif leaves plane after 90-minute stand-off ISLAMABAD,</span> Sept 10(Reuters) :</b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo--> Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif left his aircraft after a 90 minute standoff with authorities. A Reuters correspondent aboard his flight saw him leave the plane surrounded by supporters and party officials. (Posted @ 10:40 PST - 05:40 GMT)
Which General is supporting Nawaj?
This is a bravo act, he can't do it on his own. We know US and Saudi are still supporting Mushy and making BB to do Mujara. Nawaj did something extra bravdo. Again who is supporting him? Iran/ Shia
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->LAHORE, Sept 9: <b>The Punjab leadership of the Pakistan Peopleâs Party is understood to have suggested to party chairperson Benazir Bhutto to return home in the third week of October, preferably on 21st or 22nd of the next month.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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